Grief Stricken
by Half an Inch
Summary: Sabina took one look at her parents tear-streaked faces and instantly knew something was wrong. She voiced her concern aloud. Her mother looked up, eyes bloodshot. "Alex is missing."
1. Chapter 1

**Grief Stricken**

**By Half an Inch**

**This takes place after Scorpia rising, when as Alex goes to live with the Pleasures.**

* * *

"Bye, Mom," Sabina Pleasures said as she hurriedly stuffed a piece of toast into her mouth.

A sixteen year old blonde boy stifled a laugh.

Sabina turned to the one and only, Alex Rider.

"What's so funny?" She demanded, arms crossed over her chest. "Not all of us have late start."

Alex managed to smooth out his features and say, "I think the bus is here."

Sabina turned her neck at whiplash speed and saw, sure enough, the bus was here.

"I hate you," She growled, as she gave the boy a quick peck on the lips.

Grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl, she rushed to catch the bus.

Elizabeth Pleasures watched the two teenagers with something akin to pride.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" She asked the boy.

Alex checked his watch. "Nah. I still have five minutes."

He took that time to finish his breakfast and change his clothes. After he was ready to go, he shouldered his backpack, and cycled to school.

* * *

"Anatomy is the study of the structure of animals and their parts. In some of its facets, anatomy is closely related to embryology, comparative anatomy and comparative embryology,through common roots in evolution. Human anatomy is important in medicine.

The discipline of anatomy is subdivided into gross (or macroscopic) anatomy and microscopic anatomy. Gross anatomy is the study of structures that can, when suitably presented-"

Alex tuned out his teachers boring tone and glanced outside the window.

Since moving to America, his grades had improved tenfold. He hadn't told his teachers of his multiple absences back in England. He thought he would have better chances if he kept that tidbit of information to himself.

Sure enough, he made a lot more friends than he had at Brooklands (which had been a lot). Everyone in America was welcoming and kind.

Despite that, he had his own fair share of girls hitting on him. When he confronted the matter with Sabina, she had simply shrugged it off.

_"Because your British. Girls swoon for the accent. That, and the fact that your way hotter than those jerks at school."_

"Alex? Can you please tell us the answer to question one?" The teacher, Mr. Kern, asked from the front of the room breaking him out of his stupor.

Alex looked at his book. "Metabolism, Sir."

Some of the girls giggled. Alex mentally whacked himself in the head.

_Here in America, they don't call teachers 'Sir'_. He scolded himself.

The rest of the lesson was rather boring.

When the bell rang, a pretty blonde haired girl came up to him.

Alex mentally prepared himself. She had loads of makeup on her face, and she was wearing sparkly, pink, clothes and high heels. He could just tell she was the stuck up, cheerleading type.

"Hi! I...just um..."

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Heresmynumber!" She blurted and shoved a piece of paper in his hand. She then scooted away to her group of friends.

Alex sighed and shoved the paper into his pocket were a handful of other girls' numbers resided.

* * *

As he walked to his next class, Nico and Zima caught up with him. The two of them were know as the 'goth twins' by the rest of the school. An appropriate nickname considering the circumstances.

They both had black hair with red streaks and black ripped up clothes. The three of them had become fast friends the day Alex had moved in (partly because they were his neighbors).

"I haven't met a single girl here who doesn't have a crush on you," Nico commented.

Zima, the girl, frowned. "They're just jealous."

Alex shook his head. "Whatever the reason, it's driving me crazy!"

They all laughed as they made their way to math class.

As they walked through the door, a boy by the name of Jake walked up to them.

"I'm having a party this Saturday." He said "You guys should come."

Alex smiled at him. "I'll try to be there."

The class sat down as the teacher walked in.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Soon, the bell rang, signaling the end of school.

"Don't forget the essay! It's due on the twenty fifth!" Ms. Brown yelled over the noise.

Alex mingled with the crowd as he made his way to the door.

He walked over to where his bike was parked and bent down to undo the lock. As he did so, he noticed a shadow descending over him. He looked up.

Before he could even move, the man had hit the boy on the head with the butt of his gun.

The teen crumpled to the floor, unconscious. "I have the kid," The man said in his earphone as he tied his captives hands.

With the help of his partner, he managed to get the kid in the van and drive away to an unknown destination.

* * *

**Please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

** My Sabina in this story is going to be more of a girlfriend to Alex than a sister. Sorry if you don't like that pairing, but just bear with me for now. It's crucial for the plot. ;) **

** Just a warning: This fic has some Scorpia Rising spoilers and you might not understand some of the characters if you haven't read it yet.**

* * *

"I'm home," Sabina yelled as she threw her keys onto the table near the entrance.

Silence met her words.

"Hello? Mom? Dad?"

Hesitantly, she made her way up the stairs. Lines of her Shakespeare play ran through her mind. _Damn drama class_, she thought.

After a few minutes of searching, she found them, hugging each other tightly on the sofa in the living room.

Sabina took one look at her parents tear-streaked faces and instantly knew something was seriously wrong.

She voiced her concern aloud.

Her mother looked up, eyes red-rimmed, and said in a barely audible whisper,

"Alex is missing."

Sabina vaguely registered a dull thud. Her backpack falling to the floor.

"How?" She managed to choke out.

Edward looked up. "We don't know. He just didn't come home today."

_Maybe he ran away_, Sabina thought. Even though it hurt to think Alex had left because he hadn't liked living here, it was better than him being hurt.

Or worse killed.

Sabina shook her thoughts away. "He has soccer practice today," she ventured hopefully.

Her father shook his head.

He couldn't be missing.

Couldn't be _gone_.

Only this morning had she brushed her thumb against his cheek.

His blonde wispy hair against her face...

"He never showed up," Edward was saying.

Sabina backed up to the wall and slid down to the floor.

"No," she whispered, "_No_! This can't be happening!"

She could still smell ghosts of his scent. That unique but intoxicating smell of citrus, cherries, and a hint of newly rained-on dirt.

"I'm so sorry, honey. We called the police and the FED's. They're looking into it."

Sabina was silent. She had nothing to say. Snatching her bag off the floor, she ran up the stairs, tears blinding her eyes.

This shouldn't be happening.

_Couldn't_ be happening.

Alex had left all this the moment he had stepped on the plane to the U.S.

She had just barely made it to her room, when she couldn't take it anymore. Her legs gave out from under her. Her thoughts kept on going back to..._him_.

That mischievous, sarcastic, trouble-making smile.

The way his eyes twinkled with amusement when she was angry with him.

The way he cocked his head and smiled softly when someone addressed him.

_He's gone_, Sabina thought as she cried herself to sleep that night. _I might never see him again._

* * *

Erik Gunter looked down spitefully at the sixteen year old boy that was bound by his feet.

If someone had taken a closer look at the man, they would have noticed a faint crookedness in his nose, one that can only be acquired by a broken bone.

He had Alex Rider to thank for that. He had waited two years for his revenge, and now he could finally acquire it.

To be honest, Gunter felt kind of bad for the kid. If this was who had pissed his boss off so badly, than the kid was in big trouble.

His gaze fell down to the boy on the floor. He had grown since he had last seen him.

His hair was longer and more darker. He looked taller and more muscular. More like a man.

A faint frown marred his handsome features. He was waking up. Gunter crouched down and backhanded the kid harshly on the face.

His eyes shot open, panic clear in the brown orbs.

From the rocking motions that jarred Alex's pounding head, he was in van of some sorts.

Alex tried to say something, but a piece of duct tape efficiently gagged him. Upon further investigation, he discovered that his hands and feet were bound by a rough, scratchy, rope.

Already, it cut into his chaffed skin, causing droplets of blood to pool around his hand.

"Miss me?" Someone asked in a bitter tone.

He turned his smarting face a little to the left. What he saw caused him to inhale sharply.

Erik Gunter*.

The man crouched down and roughly brushed a thumb against Alex's face where the butt of the gun had torn away his skin.

He looked at his bloody fingertips with disgust and wiped it on his jeans.

"You're not going to survive long." Gunter stated. Alex could do nothing but glare at his captor.

* * *

Turns out, Gunter was right. Upon arriving at a coumpound in some remote city, he was led into a cell.

Alex had spent the next three days bound and gagged, deprived of food and only drops of water.

He had been allowed no physical contact for over seventy-two hours. He was getting restless. Finally, when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, the door to his cell banged open.

A guard roughly yanked him up from his spot on the floor. Normally, Alex would have fought back, but it been over two years since the end of his spying career.

That, and the fact that were a couple of guards behind them that were itching to press their fingers on the triggers to their SVD's.

Alex allowed himself to be manhandled down a long hallway.

He was then pushed into a room. It looked like an office or library with a large desk and bookshelves.

The man shoved him into a chair, and retied his hands to the armrest.

Alex looked up.

Someone was sitting on the desk, writing something on a paper. His head was bent down, so all Alex could distinguish was his blonde hair that was streaked with brown.

He felt a shiver go down his spine.

At the noisy entrance, the man looked up.

Alex stifled a gasp.

Boy, more like it.

Julius Grief smiled wolfishly. "Alex Rider."

He stood up and walked towards him. Perched on the corner of his desk, he ordered his men to 'leave them.'

The first thing he did when he met eyes with Alex was punch him square in the face.

Twice.

Alex flinched.

"Don't look me in the eye." Julius said cruelly.

He then ripped the tape off Alex's mouth.

He smiled when he saw Alex hide a wince.

"I would rather prefer it if you would shut up, but it will be way more enjoyable if I can hear your screams."

Alex spat in his face.

Julius reeled back and speared him in the gut multiple times.

"You disgust me."

Alex smirked. "Well, you are my clone."

"Maybe if you hadn't done that, I might have gotten you something to eat. Might."

He then proceeded to tell Alex that he had a 'big day tomorrow' and that he should 'get some rest' because 'he was going to need it.'

A few seconds later, the most unexpected thing happened.

The phone rang.

Alex would've picked it up had he not been tied to a chair.

Alex and Julius shared a look. "You might wanna pick that up. It might be your girlfriend breaking up with you."

Julius shot him a look, but nevertheless picked up the phone. Before, Alex could hear anything he was pushed out from the room and back into a cell.

Despite what Julius had said, one of the guards brought him a slice of bread.

He considered yelling at the man that he would rather lick the floor than eat it, but he needed the food.

He ate gratefully, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to keep it down due to his ribs that he was sure were broken.

He had one night.

In a lack of better words, he was toast.

* * *

**Please review and tell me what you thought! Reviews are as important as oxygen to me! (I'm exaggerating.)**

***Erik Gunter, in case you don't remember, is the head of security at the Cairo International College of Arts and Education (CICAE) in Egypt, but he is also secretly working for SCORPIA. He is the one that gets stung by a scorpion at the end of Scorpia Rising. Go type it in Google for more.**

**Should I continue? How is it? Do tell.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Grief Stricken**

**Chapter 3**

**Half an Inch**

* * *

Benjamin Daniels smoothed down his jeans for the millionth time as he waited another five minutes for someone to open the damn door already.

Finally, a young looking women of about forty opened the door cautiously. "Yes?" Her eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot.

Ben opened his mouth. "Umm... Yeah. I'm Ben Daniels. MI6. The-"

A man seemingly came out of nowhere and interrupted him rudely. "MI6? We want nothing to do with them! This is their fault in the first place. It's all their fault." He moved to close the door, but a military boot obstructed the way.

The man looked up.

"Mr. Pleasures, right? Well, MI6 sent me to aide the investigation of the kidnapping of one Alex Rider."

Edward was right about to slam the door in the mans face, when a young girl, Alex's age, came downstairs. "You're here to help find Alex? Dad, let him in."

Ben looked between the two family members as they stared each other down. Finally, the man crumbled under his daughters hurt look.

"Come on in," he said, while opening the door wider. Ben walked in, but didn't sit down.

"Look. I'll just stay out of your way, but all I need from you is a brief overview of what happened."

The family exchanged glances. Edward sighed and began the story.

After he had finished, Ben felt as though something painful was churning in him. He had an idea as to who would take Alex, but whoever it was couldn't be anyone good.

"Do you think you know who it is?" The girl, Sabina, piped up.

Ben looked up, startled. "Umm... Yeah. I have an idea. They go by the name of Scorpia."

* * *

Alex was _this close_ to falling into unconsciousness._ This close_. Couldn't a guy get _any_ relief around here? Apparently not.

Julius frowned as someone lightly knocked on the room door, and then opened it. He had been right in the middle of tearing Alex's back to shreds when they had been rudely interrupted.

Alex's whole body throbbed dreadfully from the beating he had received. "You're filthy." Julius spat at him.

"I love you, too."

Julius did nothing to silence the spy except for sending a harsh kick into the boys abused chest. Alex groaned.

Julius walked over go the door and conversed softly with the man at the door. Alex couldn't hear what was being said.

He shifted his body and gave a cry of pain as he did so. He dimly registered Julius turning back to glare at him as if to say,_ 'keep it down in there_!' but Alex ignored him.

Finally, Julius nodded and closed the door. His face turned from kind to a sneer. He grabbed Alex by his hair and forced him to look him in the eyes.

"Looks like your MI6 friend is searching for you."

Alex struggled to remember all his 'friends' he had at MI6.

Julius probably saw his face because he snarled and said, "Benjamin what's-his-name? Daniels. Yeah. Benjamin Daniels. We'll, I'm going to make sure he has the time of his life looking for you."

He took out a knife from somewhere and cut a deep gash in the palm of Alex's hand.

Then, he took a miniature flask and poured some of Alex's blood in the vessel. He took out his radio and called one of his men.

"Spill this. Make it look messy. Make it look brutal. I don't care where. And set up a trail. Ben Daniels is gonna regret messing with me."

The man nodded, took the flask, and then walked out the room. Before the door could shut completely, Alex saw a bit of his surroundings.

He noticed a sofa, a carpet, and a bookshelf choked with books.

A house.

Scorpia's headquarters was in a compound that was disguised as a house.

Now, all he had to figure out was where.

Before he had a chance, however, Julius smiled cruelly at him. "Shall we proceed?" He asked.

Alex groaned and let his blonde hair flop down over his eyes as he let his head fall in the crook of his elbow.

* * *

Ben nodded a greeting to the group of CIA agents that Joe Byrne had put together.

Blunt and Byrne had decided to work together on this one, since Alex was technically still a British citizen on American soil.

Ben had been appointed to lead since he was closet to Alex. One of the men walked up to him and said, "Where do we start?"

Ben glanced at the man. "Where it all started. Franklin High School."

The man nodded as if he was satisfied, and then shouted an order to the rest of the agents.

* * *

They broke off into groups. Ben and three other agents, Smith, Carl, and Jackson, were chosen to investigate at the school.

Since it was around twelve in the daytime, students were still in school. They walked around in groups, chatting and talking.

Ben felt that same feeling from earlier. Alex should have been here, in school. Not in the process of being held by some crazed, psychopath, kidnapper.

He was broken from his train of thought by Smith nudging him.

The three of them went over to the last class Alex had had yesterday.

Math.

Ben remembered when he had been in school. He used to be terrible at math and would often ditch. That didn't prevent him from going to Harvard, though.

As the CIA agents went to go converse with the teacher, a young, pretty women, Ben went outside to investigate.

Remembering what Sabina had said about Alex riding his bike to and from school, he decided to check the bike racks first.

The grass there had been trampled over. _There was a struggle here_, Ben realized. The drops of blood just proved his point.

He turned around sharply to go find his partner, unaware that he was being watched through a pair of high-tech Bushnell Legend Ultra HD binoculars.

* * *

**Important A/N: If you guys could read Denying the Inevitable, at the bottom I wrote a very important author note. Please read it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Grief Stricken**

* * *

"You won't believe what I found!"

Carl and Jackson turned from where they were talking to Alex's teacher, but Smith continued on, completely ignoring him.

Ben had a feeling that the senior agent fiercely disliked him. And it wasn't just cause he was British.

"At the bike racks. Signs of a struggle." Ben said breathlessly. That got Smiths attention.

He turned around, glaring at Ben, and said gruffly, "Maybe it was a soccer ball or somethin'."

Ben shook his head. "There was blood."

Smiths scowl only deepened as Carl, the youngest amongst them, opened his mouth.

"I say we go check it out. Sounds like a lead to me." He threw over his shoulder as he walked out the door to the classroom. Jackson clapped Ben on his back as he, too made his way to the bike racks.

Smith growl out a cuss word as he stormed out after his partners.

Ben turned around, giving the teacher an apologetic smile. He then left, following the three men.

He found them outside near the bike racks. Jackson was kneeling down on the ground, saying something to Smith, who had his arms crossed.

Carl was talking to one of the kids who were playing baseball on the field. He looked nervous and was shifting uncomfortably every so often. Ben guessed that talking to a CIA agent did that to you.

Ben walked up to Carl as the kid gladly escaped his smothering gaze. "Find anything?"

Carl turned, a 100-watt smile on his face. "Believe it or not, I actually found a lead!"

Ben raised his eyebrow as Jackson came over. "Kid had some useful knowledge. A number plate. 6DHE356."

Jackson and Ben shared a look. "Should we take it to Byrne? Get it analyzed?"

Carl nodded. "Sound like a plan."

Ben smirked as he saw Smith growl in anger.

* * *

"Looks like your friend got our lead. That kid must have told 'em that bit of information we shared with him."

Over the three days he had been there, a messenger would mercifully interrupt his 'bonding time' with Julius to bring updates on where Ben was with his investigation in finding him.

Alex winced as he adjusted himself so he was leaning on the wall of the room he was in. "Kid? You got other children in this mess, too?" He rasped.

Julius shot him look. "Don't be daft. We just...persuaded him to give your friend Daniels some false info."

Alex didn't answer. He had nothing to say.

"This is getting juicy. Isn't it? Your friends, playing all detective. I don't even regret it."

* * *

Everyone looked up as one of the CIA agents on the case barged into the conference room. "We have a match!" He gasped as he tried to catch his breath. Smith snatched the file from his hands and flicked through it, his face breaking in to a small, barely noticeable smirk.

"Let's go! Up and at 'em boys!" He said slapping down the file in the table. Everyone followed him out, gearing up.

When no one but him was left in the room, Ben looked around and darted towards the folder. Opening it, he flicked through the stack of papers. There was a picture of a tall, lean man with fair hair and a large, brick house.

Quickly he skimmed through the report.

"-_Donnelly Ayers, twenty-seven, no spouse, no known kinship-."_

_"-Purchased a 2009 Toyota Camry Sedan mid-size car on the date of 4/12/10-."_

_"-Living on Emery Bay Dr. twenty-one minutes and eleven point three miles from last seen location of subject-."_

_"-License plate number as following: 6DHE356-."_

Ben snapped the file shut after hearing a noise in the hallway. He cautiously replaced it exactly as it was previously, and walked out the room.

Seeing no one, he followed his team down to the debriefing room.

* * *

"We're going to have to split up. We have three possible suspects and four different locations. Smith and Jenssen will take the north side of town."

The two men nodded, making their way out the room and towards the vehicle.

"Fahey, Tan. Take the east side. William, Hacker. West side. Daniels; you're with me," Jackson concluded. Ben followed him out, causally throwing himself in the passenger seat.

Jackson rolled his eyes and started the engine. "You have the address?" He asked. Ben didn't even think twice before giving the answer.

The CIA agent studied his face scrutinizingly, before turning his gaze back to the road. Jackson didn't even bother asking him how he knew. He was better of without the extra headache.

* * *

**Forgive me for the lack of suspense, but I never was one for writing mystery/crime stories.**


End file.
